Christmas Memories

We had a blessed Christmas! The family all remained healthy, from the oldest to the youngest. Above is Nanny (Mom) Bekkelund with her great-granddaughters, Avery and Rylie. We had many fun gatherings and lots of gift giving and receiving. And we remembered Christ is the reason for the season.

One of our favorite traditions is the Christmas Eve program at church. The pews were full in our little country church. The children's recitations were excellent, the play was well rehearsed and thoughtful, and the candlelit readings and songs were such a nice finish.

We hope your Christmas was as wonderful and Christ-filled!

New homes for two of our girls

Congratulations to the Robert Thrift family of Waco who picked up two more mares from Unicorner on Christmas Eve.

Unicorner Funny Face and Blazin B's Too Precious have joined their other miniature from Unicorner, a lovely mare named Odessa.

We wish them lots of happiness with the minis in the coming new year!

Very funny video

A friend emailed me this cute video! Click once on the video and then on the play arrow.

Beautiful silver tabby longhair! Cute Golden Retriever too...

The German Cat Show - Part Five

The Bavarian Cat Fanciers invited four U.S. judges to judge their Christmas 2008 show in Nurnberg. Henry and Eva Kellner are the nicest couple and I love to do their shows. They do a first rate job, presenting very organized and well attended shows three times a year.

The European format is quite different then we do here in the U.S. Judges must write critiques of each cat and then the show climaxes with a Best of the Best competition on the stage. I had a very lovely young lady who stewarded for me at the show. Darlyn was better at English then she thought. We were able to communicate quite well.

The four of us, Donna Madison, Ann Hoehn, Karen McInchak, and I narrowed the competition down until a beautiful torbie and white Maine Coon was chosen as Best of the Best both days.

Christmastime in Nurnberg - Part Four

We arrived in Nurnberg on Friday afternoon, we were to meet with the cat show producers and other judges for dinner that evening.

Since our hotel was in the inner part of the city where parking is almost impossible to find, especially during the Christkindlemarkt, we decided to return it to the airport and depend on club members, trains and taxis for transportation the rest of the trip.

Nurnberg is a beautiful old city, I enjoy it everytime I visit. But I especially love it during the Christmas season.

That is why I insisted Bob go along with me, and when the Bavarian Cat Fanciers invited my best friend Ann to judge as well, it made for an unforgettable adventure.

A Winter Wonderland - Part Three

After walking around Munich we took the train back to our hotel to rest. When we looked back outside, it had started to snow! We had planned to go back into Munich and eat at the Hofbrauhaus, but we were tired and didn't look forward to the cold walk. We drove to a nearby restaurant for some great Italian food.

Friday morning we were awoke to a winter wonderland, something we don't see very often in Texas. The drive to Nurnberg was beautiful, we took little side trips to take photos.

It was amazing, and breathtakingly beautiful!

Munich Memories - Part Two

On Thursday, we took the train into Munich and took a free walking tour of the city. A great way to see the sights, we highly recommend it.

Check out Sandeman's website at
http://www.newmunich.com/nm/ for information on it.


It was COLD... as you can tell by the winter wear in the photo of Bob, Ann and Charles at Marienplatz.

Luckily there were plenty of opportunities to buy mugs of hot Gluhwein, a spiced wine that sure helped warm us up.

Our Germany Adventure - Part One

After a long and uncomfortable plane ride we arrived in Frankfurt and found that our connection to Nurnberg had been cancelled. Lufthansa gave us a voucher for the train and luckily we were able to navigate the DB (German Train) system.

When we arrived in Nurnberg we had to take another train out to the airport to pickup our rental car. We had planned to drive to Munich to spend three days before returning to the cat show in Nurnberg.

It was a good thing that we had decided to make hotel reservations so the airline could send our misplaced luggage. A good reason to always pack a change of clothes in your carry-on.

We stayed in a Feldkirchen, a suburb, in a Holiday Inn Express. Very reasonable and surprisingly comfortable.

The next morning we drove to Dachau, the old Nazi concentration camp.

What an education, certainly a place to reflect on how inhumane humans can be to each other.

I rescued a human today

Well, we are back from Germany. I am at work catching up now. I will try to post photos soon.

Meanwhile I read the nicest little story written from a pet's view on adoption.

I rescued a human today.

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life. She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.

A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well. Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved.

At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.


Here is a great site to visit, each click helps shelters.
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

Jesus is Better than Santa

Reasons why Jesus is Better than Santa:

Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh
JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
Santa comes but once a year
JESUS is an ever present help.
Santa fills your stockings with goodies
JESUS supplies all your needs.
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. And then enters your heart.
You have to stand in line to see Santa
JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa lets you sit on his lap
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
JESUS knew our name before we did. Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too. He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
JESUS has a heart full of love.
All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
JESUS offers health, help and hope.
Santa says "You better not cry"
JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
Santa's little helpers make toys
JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
Santa may make you chuckle but
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
While Santa puts gifts under your tree
JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.

It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.
We need to put Christ back in Christmas.
Jesus is still the reason for the season.

May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008 And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year.

More Christmas Fun

I really had a good time creating the elves on JibJab. I hope everyone enjoys the video. If you didn't get to see it, give the photo on my previous post time to appear and then click on the green arrow in the center. It might take a while to load up but its worth the wait. Sometimes you may have to click once to "wake it up" and then click again to start it.

We are now busy getting ready to go on a short vacation to Germany. We love to go there and luckily our friends in the Bavarian Cat Fanciers invite me to judge often. This year they have also invited my best friend, Ann to judge too. So we will be traveling together, and taking our hubbies.

We will be going to Nuremberg, one of the best Christmas cities to visit at this time of the year. I hope to bring back lots of photos.

One of the things we waited until the last minute to do... make a will. We have always had good intentions of doing that, but kept putting it off. We finally have an appointment today to get it done.

We also ordered a phone that can be used internationally, it will allow us to receive calls from home if our family or "pet sitter" needs to reach us. We will see how it works out.

Merry Elves of Unicorner

Send your own ElfYourself eCards